More than 30 Australian fintech companies joined the Team Australia delegation to the 2025 Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF). Delivered in partnership with Investment NSW, Global Victoria and FinTech Australia, the delegation showcased Australia's strengths across:
- payments and embedded finance
- AI-enabled financial services
- regtech and compliance technology
- digital lending and alternative credit platforms.
Across 3 days, the Australian Pavilion facilitated over 100 targeted business-matching engagements, connecting Australian companies with regional investors, regulators, banks, and corporate innovation teams. These meetings generated new opportunities for pilot projects, partnerships and market entry exploration.
The strong engagement reflects the increasing alignment between Australian fintech capability and Southeast Asia's digital transformation priorities.
Southeast Asia's US$1 trillion digital transformation opportunity
Southeast Asia's digital economy is undergoing rapid expansion, driven by strong demographics, rising digital adoption and accelerating demand for innovative financial services. By 2030, the region's digital economy is forecast to approach US$1 trillion, presenting significant commercial opportunities for Australian fintech companies.
In this context, the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) has become one of the world's most influential platforms for global fintech collaboration. Last year's event drew more than 65,000 participants from over 130 countries, highlighting Singapore's role as a regional hub for digital finance and innovation.
SFF as a pathway into Southeast Asia
SFF is a major activation point for Austrade's Southeast Asia Landing Pads network. Operating in Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam, the Landing Pads support export-ready Australian tech companies by:
- identifying market pathways
- refining regional value propositions
- facilitating introductions to investors, regulators and partners
- providing insights into Southeast Asia's regulatory and operating environment.
At SFF 2025, the Australian fintech delegation engaged in curated meetings, side events and ecosystem visits. These activities were designed to help them validate their commercial potential across multiple Southeast Asian markets.
The Singapore Fintech Festival plays a crucial role connecting Australian innovators with customers and partners across Southeast Asia.
Strengthening regional and bilateral partnerships
The festival also saw renewed momentum in cross-border collaboration.
Australia's Cognitivo and Singapore's ST Engineering signed a memorandum of understanding to co-develop AI-powered solutions for financial institutions in both markets. The collaboration will leverage complementary strengths in AI knowledge platforms and enterprise-scale AI orchestration.
Austrade also renewed its collaboration with Fintech Alliance.Ph, reinforcing government-to-industry engagement between the Australian and the Philippines fintech ecosystems.
These initiatives highlight SFF's role as a catalyst for deepening bilateral cooperation and driving regional innovation.
Explore opportunities in Southeast Asia
Australian companies looking to expand into Southeast Asia can connect with Austrade to explore market pathways, understand regulatory settings and identify the right commercial partners.
Support is also available through the Southeast Asia Landing Pads and the Go Global Toolkit, which offers advisory services, practical tools and export-readiness resources:
Austrade looks forward to supporting more Australian innovators as they pursue growth across Southeast Asia and beyond.
